Wednesday, 19 June, 2013

The struggle between predator and prey never ends. Bats invented sonar, and now some moths are fighting back. Check out the Why Files acoustic-organic warfare, airborne edition.

“It’s true. There’s always one in every group,” says UW-Madison entomology professor and mosquito expert Susan Paskewitz. That’s not to say mosquitoes target certain people because they’re tastier or have higher quality blood. Rather, it’s all about how easy you are to locate. “The main things are how you smell and how hot you are,” [...]

Most adhesives can’t be reused. But a radical new design, based on the foot of frogs, lizards and insects, shows how engineers can learn from nature to make smarter materials.

A honeybee queen mates with 15 guys. This weakens family ties in the hive, possibly hampering the selfless behavior these bees need for survival. Does polyandry have hidden benefits for bees?

The Argentine ant invaded California 100 years ago, forming “super-colonies” that stretch hundreds of miles. Most ants attack nearby nests. Why have Argentine ants declared peace with neighbors?

How’s a hungry fish supposed to make a living in the shallow water below tropical mangrove trees? Hint: Squirt, squirt!

After boy and girl mosquitoes meet, they synchronize their wingbeats. What does this tell us about how insects use sound?

More than 100 million hectares are planted each year. What do we know about food safety? How is GM food doing amid the explosion in sales of organic foods?

How do dragonflies fly? How do bats catch insects hidden behind leaves? How do you make a temperature of 2 billion degrees? Why would anyone care?

They may seem like the lowliest members of the animal kingdom, but dung beetles around the world sport a spectacular diversity of ‘horns.’ The strange appendages have forced biologists to reassess their understanding of evolution.

First rule of forensics: Don’t ignore any goodies at the crime scene — even the maggots! Featuring fabulous forensic science !

Like a chamberful of pork-barreling legislators, cicadas are on the wing in Washington, D.C. Voracious. Unstoppable. A force of nature: 17-year cicadas are back!

Evolution is going on all around us. Evolution and everyday life.

The science of Halloween: bats, brains and cemetaries. Mourn the bats. Earn some interest at the brain bank. Prowl the boneyard!